7th Annual Red & Black Banquet on Saturday, November 21, 2020

Good evening to our esteemed bishop, pastors, parishioners, benefactors, school and parish faculty and staff, students, parents, volunteers, and honored guests. Thank you for joining us in this new virtual experience. I am not sure what Aretha Franklin meant when she sang “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” in 1985 but I am certain she did not know that it was a foreshadowing of our world today.

As we conclude Black Catholic History month, I give glory and honor to God for allowing us to make it to this point where we are Kicking off Phase II of our  New Hope, New Home building campaign. It is for moments like these that all of our efforts begin to bear the fruits of our labor; for we all laborers in the same vineyard, working to build the kingdom of God through prayer, worship, and ministry. Your dedication and love to our mission has already demonstrated that we are moving in the right direction. As a member of Holy Savior Catholic Community for 21 years, I have been blessed to experience the community as a parishioner and as school leader. Both have been life-giving to me and my family.

In our school this year our Catholic population is 50%, which is the highest it has been in 15 years. This is not due to our decreased efforts in welcoming families from other faith traditions nor is it due to our efforts to proselytize or “woo” our families from their own faith traditions. This is solely due to the work of the Holy Spirit helping to fulfill our mission of evangelization. We love our diversity and often boast that Holy Savior Catholic community is a wonderful example of what we may imagine heaven to be like…all Christians, all ethnicities, all economic levels recognizing that we are all part of the one body of Christ. This great work is accomplished with students who often come struggling or advanced in various areas and yet we are called and dedicated to raising their scores with our 1.3 years’ growth model and more importantly we are called and dedicated to helping them to become witnesses for Christ.!

It is in times like these where our children and their families rely on the faith-based education we provide in our Catholic schools the most, whether its in-person or remote. We know that this, too, shall pass. We look forward to the time when we will be able to learn, celebrate, and fellowship in person. For this reason, we are embarking on Phase II because of our trust and faith in the Lord.

I am reminded of the prayer of Habakkuk. Habakkuk 2:2-3, which we pray as a school every morning before the start of the day.

It states….Then Lord answered me and said: Write down this vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. Amen and Thank you!